A group of wounded military combat veterans will have a permanent home in Redmond.

A sign was unveiled July 20 for the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 551 outside Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4108 hall on SW Veterans Way. The Central Oregon chapter of the organization has been meeting at the post the second Thursday of each month for about a year.

“Being war veterans, they recognize the sacrifice of all our veterans,” Redmond Mayor George Endicott, a Purple Heart recipient because of wounds he received in Vietnam, said of the VFW. “They wanted to help us, and we appreciate that.”

The VFW also stepped up and paid for the Purple Heart group’s sign, Endicott said.

The Military Order of the Purple Heart has about 50 members in Central Oregon, including 95-year-old World War II veteran Robert Maxwell, of Bend, the nation’s oldest living Medal of Honor recipient. But Endicott said fewer than 10 veterans typically show up to meetings.

They are hopeful that working with the Redmond VFW post, the second largest in Oregon with more than 700 members, can increase interest in the Purple Heart group.

“If there’s any group that needs our assistance, it’s those who got a Purple Heart,” said Dennis Guthrie, a past commander of the VFW post.

The Purple Heart group’s duties range from participating in the Veterans Day parade and Memorial Day ceremony to assisting disabled veterans with getting their benefits, said Darrell Coleman, who received a Purple Heart after he was wounded in Vietnam.

According to its website, the Military Order of the Purple Heart obtained more than $337 million nationally in Veterans Affairs benefits for its clients in fiscal year 2013. It also has volunteers who assist with VA health care and state veterans homes. It also represents veterans in Washington, D.C., and provides hundreds of scholarships.

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmondspokesman.com